Consumers’ growing concerns with regard to the food supply chain continue to influence their perceptions
of emerging novel food processes. The main objective of this study was to explore consumers’ perceptions and
potential purchase motivations for chilled ready meals produced using high pressure processing. In-depth one-to-one
soft laddering interviews were conducted in-home with 40 purchasers of chilled ready meals, aged between 18 and 44
years, living in Dublin City and County, Ireland. The in-depth discussions explored a range of issues concerning
consumers’ acceptance of high pressure processing, as well as their preferences for high pressure processed chilled
ready meal concepts. The results of the study showed that consumers were generally receptive towards high pressure
processing of chilled ready meals. Subsequent discussions revealed where consumer acceptance issues could
potentially arise concerning the application of high pressure processing to chilled ready meals. The soft laddering
technique revealed distinct differences between consumer groups across consumption patterns and life stages with
regard to their purchase preferences and potential purchase motivations. The insights generated from this research
can assist companies design consumer-relevant communication strategies, which effectively differentiate high
pressure processed chilled ready meal from incumbent products.